Interpreting and Ad Hoc Training. A contextual and bottom-up approach to the notion of quality

Research on interpreting and quality has tended to remain centered on highly institutionalized contexts. In an attempt to fill this gap, this paper proposes to extend the scope of analysis of professional practice and teaching-learning to ad hoc interpreting situations. In its approach to quality, it also aims to pay special attention to the socio-economic, geopolitical and socio-professional circumstances in which interpreting takes place. The case study of ad hoc initiatives to guarantee interpreting quality in social forums -characterized by volunteer work, political engagement and lack of resources-invites for an approach to the notion of quality that is both contextual and bottom-up (stemming from the ground within which interpreting is practiced and learnt) so as to identify relevant and appropriate guidelines for the situation under study.